TAKE heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you: They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth : that thine alms may be in secret : and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: ye Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

MATTHEW vi. 1-15.

"IN the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death."

PROVERBS xii. 28.

SWEET day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earthe and skie :
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night,
For thou must die.

Sweet rose, whose hue angrie and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye,
Thy root is even in its grave,

And thou must die.

Sweet spring, full of sweet dayes and roses,
A box where sweetes compacted lie,
My musick shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.

Only a sweete and vertuous soule,
Like season'd timber, never gives ;
But though the whole worlde turn to coale,
Then chiefly lives.

GEORGE HERBERT. 1593.

GOD said "Let there be light!
Grim darkness felt His might,
And fled away ;

Then startled seas and mountains cold
Shone forth, all bright in blue and gold,
And cried-"'Tis day! 'tis day!"

"Hail, holy light!" exclaimed
The thundrous cloud, that flamed
O'er daisies white;

And lo! the rose, in crimson dress'd,
Lean'd sweetly on the lily's breast;

And, blushing, murmur'd-" Light!"
Then was the skylark born ;
Then rose th' embattled corn;
Then floods of praise

Flow'd o'er the sunny hills of noon;
And then, in stillest night, the moon
Pour'd forth her pensive lays.
Lo, heaven's bright bow is glad!
Lo, trees and flowers all clad
In glory, bloom!

And shall the mortal sons of God
Be senseless as the trodden clod,
And darker than the tomb ?

No, by the mind of man!

By the swart artisan !

By God, our Sire!

Our souls have holy light within,
And every form of grief and sin
Shall see and feel its fire.

By earth, and hell, and heav'n,
The shroud of souls is riven !

Mind, mind alone.

Is light, and hope, and life, and power!
Earth's deepest night, from this bless'd hour,
The night of minds is gone!

EBENEZER ELLIOTT.

* Written for the Printers of Sheffield on the passing of the Reform Bill, which became law June 7th, 1832.

THE sunlight glitters keen and bright,
Where, miles away,

Lies stretching to my dazzled sight
A luminous belt, a misty light,

Beyond the dark pine bluffs and wastes of sandy gray

The tremulous shadow of the sea!

Against its ground

Of silvery light, rock, hill, and tree,
Still as a picture, clear and free,

With varying outline mark the coast for miles around.

I draw a freer breath-I seem

Like all I see

Waves in the sun-the white-winged gleam

Of sea-birds in the slanting beam

And far-off sails which flit before the south-wind free.

So when Time's veil shall fall asunder,

The soul may know

No fearful change, nor sudden wonder,

Nor sink the weight of mystery under,

But with the upward rise, and with the vastness grow.

And all we shrink from now may seem

No new revealing;

Familiar as our childhood's stream,

Or pleasant memory of a dream

The loved and cherished Past upon the new life stealing.

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.

SWEET is the breath of morn, her rising sweet,
With charm of earliest birds: pleasant the sun,
When first on this delightful land he spreads
His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flower,
Glistering with dew; fragrant the fertile earth
After soft showers; and sweet the coming on
Of grateful evening mild; then silent night,
With this her solemn bird, and this fair moon,
And these the gems of heaven, her starry trains.

These then, though unbeheld in deep of night,

Shine not in vain; nor think, though man were none,
That heaven would want spectators, God want praise.
Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth
Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep,
All these with ceaseless praise His works behold
Both day and night. How often from the steep
Of echoing hill or thicket have we heard
Celestial voices to the midnight air,
Sole, or responsive each to other's note,
Singing their great Creator! oft in bands
While they keep watch on nightly rounding walk,
With heavenly touch of instrumental sounds,
In full harmonic number join'd, their songs
Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to heaven.

JOHN MILTON. 1608.